A phase 2 clinical-stage pharma company intent on supplementing their internal pipeline with external innovation asked Alacrita to identify immune-oncology or vaccine assets owned by financially distressed companies. Modalities of interest included nucleic acids, oncolytic viruses, cell therapies, peptides, protein degraders, enzymes, and platform technologies at candidate stage of development within 18 months of IND up through phase 1 clinical.
We first searched for all assets that met the client’s search criteria with regard to modality, indication, and stage of development. We next identified assets owned by vulnerable companies in a financially distressed state (public: share price below the deficiency threshold and private: cash runway from prior raise shorter than the next value creation point). All assets were detailed in an Excel database, prioritized by fit with the search criteria, and shared with the client for their review.
We then reached out to select asset owners for non-confidential decks describing their assets and we further evaluated their data before determining whether to send them on to the client. Out of 5,500 potential assets initially identified, we contacted 51 distressed companies regarding different 99 assets of interest.
Ultimately, the client elected to be introduced to 3 of these companies for further partnering discussions on their assets.
Alacrita supports both large pharma and biotech companies with their search and evaluation activities. Our asset scouting support is often structured to integrate with the client’s internal efforts, resulting in a constant flow of new opportunities.